Whether they’re blog posts, social media posts, podcasts or newsletters, content has never been this important for a growing business. This approach establishes expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business top of mind when it’s time to buy what you sell.

Content marketing guru Neil Patel defined it as “a long-term strategy that focuses on building a strong relationship with your target audience by giving them high-quality content that is very relevant to them on a consistent basis.”

In a study done last year by Semrush, 97% of businesses surveyed included content marketing in their overall marketing strategy – BUT of the 1,500 companies surveyed, 78% that said content marketing helped their business had a documented content marketing strategy in place. Remember that – PLAN.

If you’re not using content to your advantage, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities to grow. You’ll have a better chance of your audience sticking around longer.

People love good content. It’s engaging and enhances their experience with a brand if they get value out of it. When you choose to put out quality content for your audience, you increase the chances of building trust and recognition with them, eventually turning them into paying customers.

You’ll have better traction on social media. Content is the communication between you and the audience you want to reach – the audience you want to work with. Quality and relevant content can get the right attention and organic traction.

It’s an easy way to build audience trust. Creating content is one of the best ways to establish a connection and built trust with your audience. Different types of content can share what your brand is all about and what your business can do for your customers. Content can also be used to interact and answer customers’ questions.

It can help generate more and better leads. With increased traction and trust, lead generation becomes easier. Content can be used strategically through calls to action (CTAs) and offer free value to persuade customers to purchase or take an action, such as visiting your landing page.

Quality content can build brand awareness. It’s difficult to persuade customers to do business with you when they know nothing about your brand. Content marketing can help you out with that. Videos, images and even written content can be published and shared across different digital platforms, increasing brand visibility and awareness. It helps you share what your brand represents and what you can do for them.

How to best use content marketing for customer retention:

• Publish High-Quality Content Consistently.
• Gather and Use Customer Data.
• Focus on Providing Value to Customers.
• Keep Engaging With the Audience.
• Personalize Content Marketing Campaigns.

While content can be helpful in increasing traction and revenue, not all content has equal influence.

Focus on improving personalization and humanizing your content, while making sure it’s backed by solid research and an understanding of who your customers are. Don’t be afraid to show the personality and voice of your brand, all the while giving your audience a reason to engage with you.

To find your content sweet point by:

• Doing industry research
• Doing target audience research
• Tracking consumer trends
• Tracking data from all content created
• Adapting and shifting as needed

Through the collected data and seeing how your campaigns are performing, you can identify patterns in your content that help you understand what makes it effective and what is a waste of time and effort. This eliminates any content creation strategies that do not work for you.

Overall, ensure that you are always sharing relevant and engage-able content. Invest your time and resources where it matters. There is no need to jump on every viral trend. If the purpose and content is irrelevant to your targeted audience and business, you will not obtain or retain potential clients. Instead, focus and create content that does resonate and solve problems for your target audience.

You can still adapt trends and shift your marketing based on changing consumer trends, but make sure to stay relevant to YOUR business.

Content marketing foreshadows the end of the hard sell. The goal of marketing is no longer to aggressively push your product in a potential customer’s face.

Your job is to use content marketing to convince your audience that you’re the best option to help them. Your content strategy lays out how you will use content during the buyer’s journey — from establishing what the problem is to deciding the best way to solve it.

Having a content marketing strategy will ensure your content reaches and supports your target audience. As we’ve mentioned, content should tell a story — but it should also bring your customers’ needs to the forefront of your marketing efforts. Solve a problem, create a solution, share insight.

Consider what your ideal customer might be doing during the day that leads them to interact with your company. Think about the devices they use to engage with you — smartphone, tablet, radio, newspaper, computer, etc. Think about the questions they ask themselves and what might be preventing them from moving to the next stage. Finally, examine their motivations and what they care about. Look for the motivations that will lead them to the next stage.

What else to plan for:

• Mediums you are sharing (blog, video, podcast, research, print)
• Platforms you are posting to (go where it matters most)
• Industry and niche marketing
• Target audience research
• Search Engine Optimization
• Know what you are selling (product, services, experiences, education, etc.)

Standing out from the competition can be a tedious job. When you’re up against businesses that have been in the game for a while, lead generation can be overwhelming.

Especially if you are in a smaller niche or have a small, local footprint. Establishing that recognition and trust will take time – but will pay off in the long haul.

Luckily, the internet is leveling the playing field by offering the same opportunities to businesses, big or small, to reach their target demographic. With the right content marketing strategies, you can increase conversions, build lasting relationships with customers and unlock your business’s full potential.

With effective content marketing, you can reach your target audience and increase conversions. There are several ways to market with content to boost revenue, grow your brand awareness and recognition, and build relationships with your prospects and customers.

Need help planning or executing your content marketing strategy? Pathfinder is here to help you strategically and effectively share your story and business! From written content to video, graphic design and website, strategy and implementation – we’ve got your back.